Experiencing Paris - Your thoughts?
 

Hi, we'll be leaving for our first trip to Paris (belated honeymoon) in about 3 weeks. We'll be there for 5 nights/4 full days.

We're not "foodies" and we're not museum-buffs (highlights only). We're renting an apartment between Pompidou and Notre Dame.

I would appreciate your comments/feedback on what our plans are. Any suggestions?

In no particular order, here's what we have planned:

Museums (we'll have pass): Louvre, D'Orsay, Rodin and possibly Pompidou (at least the outside)

Sites: Eiffel/Trocadero (dusk), Arc D' Triomphe (view), Notre Dame, St. Chappelle (sunny day),

Transportation: Carnets for Metro, Hop-on/Hop-off bus, CDG Shuttle (which one?)

Seine: Walk along Seine, at least one boat ride (sunset)

Walks: Marais, Rue St. Honore, Latin quarter, Lux.Gardens, Montmarte

Misc: Dept. store(s), Flea market, daily market(s)

THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP!!

Hi you old Warrior!

Do yourself a favor, take a taxi from CDG to your hotel. You'll be quite beat up from your trip over. Schlepping baggage thru trains and the metro are no fun.

Bring your most comfortable shoes, you'll need them :D Enjoy!

Hi

Nice, pleasant trip.

I agree with putting the Pompidou at the bottom of the list.

I suggest that you walk from the Arc de Triomphe down the Champs Elysee to at least the Louvre, if not as far as Notre Dame.

If you will be there on a Sunday morning, have Brunch at the Jaquemart-Andre Museum and see the museum.

Also bring a light jacket and an umbrella...Paris weather is very changeable, and lately the temperature is great.
May I suggest that you visit the Cathedral of Saint Denis,the place is full of history,also is the burials ground of many Kings and Queens of France.Take the metro N.13, is quite a distance from Pompidou, over 30 minutes perphas, but it is worth the trip.
Bon Voyage,
Kismet

On our first trip, we started with the Cartes Rouges double decker buses which drive around to sites and drop off/pick up people as needed. It was a great way to get our bearings and get some idea of locations and distances.

DH (not a museum type either) preferred the Musee d'Orsay over the Louvre which is overwhelming to say the least.

We enjoyed the Picasso and Dali museums too, tho I don't recall if they are covered by the pass.

Rippowam, You will have a wonderful time! I suggest grouping together things that are near each other to avoid a lot of wasted time backtracking. For example:
Day 1: D'Orsay, Rodin, Eiffel Tower
Day 2: Arc de Triomphe, walk down St. Honore (with a possible detour up to Galeries Lafayette & Au Printemps if you have time, although these would be more out of the way), Louvre
Day 3: Notre Dame, Ste. Chappelle, Latin Quarter, Luxembourg Gardens
Day 4: Marais & Montmartre (granted, these are not close, but that's what was left on your list).
Obviously, you would want to check closing dates of museums to make sure you don't show up when they're closed.

Although I love flea markets, I don't think I'd take the time with only 4 days.
Hope this helps!

You might also want to consider using the Batobus, which is an 8-stop motorboat busline on the Seine. It starts at the Eiffel Tower and will take you to places such as Notre-Dame and the Louvre. It is a wonderfully scenic way to get to major sights in Paris.

If you have time, do your own quick tour of the Opera Garnier; I was awed by its beauty; ticket was a few Euros.

If you do this right, you won't make it to everything... that is to say, don't rush through things just so you can say you saw it. Select the top 3-4 sights that you must see to avoid terrible disappointment, and do them the first couple of days.
Allow unplanned time to just sit and enjoy coffee or wine, people-watching and browsing. Don't overplan your day of arrival, but do get out to walk and get fresh air.
The taxi is most direct and will cost about 45Euro each trip. PariShuttle is about 17Euro pp and they will drop off other passengers if any booked. (but even that is kind of an 'overview').
I've been to Puces des Clignancourt and Vanves, and it is fun, but I wouldn't advise either for a 4-day visit - there are 'world-class' sights to see, and those "ain't it".

Paris is a wonderful city to walk in. It sounds as though you'll be staying in or near the Marais, which has great winding side streets. Why don't you walk to the Place des Vosges, a beautiful square with shops and restaurants, in the heart of the Marais for lunch or dinner. I can recommend Ma Bourgogne, whhich is both good and reasonable.

Sounds like a well-rounded itinerary.
One thing I would add, personally, is to see the facade of Notre Dame at night. It was just different, I guess, but I thought it was a dramatic difference, and you'll be staying within easy walking distance.
Bon voyage.

What you have listed is enough--more than enough. Since you are in the Marais, then do consider Musee Picasso--perhaps substitute it for the Rodin. On your next trip to Paris, flip this!

Your flea market should be limited to those on Ile de la Cite--the Bird Market on Sunday is fab. Do not go out to Cligancourt--waste of time on this type of trip.

Two pearls of wisdom were already given to you:

1)take the taxi and just flat out get into town on your honeymoon. I don't care what the shuttle vs. taxi vs. train costs you--just count it as the cost of travel and be done with it!

2)you are staying in a perfect location. Enjoy. Just pick a cafe and drop for hours. Stroll aimlessly for hours. Enjoy. There's a good reason Paris invented Existentialism--it's the only place in the world one can just "be" and that is enough.

Oh to be young and in love and in Paris...

Enjoy!

Yeah, the Picasso is in the Marais, but the Rodin....sigh....is probably the most romantic museum in Paris. (Read up on Rodin and Camille Claudel before you leave!) It CERTAINLY ranks over the Pompidou in my book on a short trip, and I love modern art. But the Picasso, actually, is cool even though there are better works displayed elsewhere. And it's on your pass. Carnets for metro and the bus big yes. Hop on Hop off bus isn't really that necessary as you can walk to so many of the places you'll want to see.

If you're serious, here, get the Bistros of Paris by the Hamburgers, the Routard, and download "Leeds Good Guide", all well worth the investment for the incredible recommendations. Also fabulous is a guide offered by the Seass's or something like that.

Should your dates include Monday-Sunday, or thereabouts, best bet is Carte Orange, along with that Museum Pass.

Thank you for all of your replies.

Carte Orange doesn't fit our timing.

We will take your "grouping" suggestions.

We had already ruled out the BatoBus, just too little value for time/$$ in our opinions.

We WILL take time to smell the roses, always do.

We will make a point to see Paris lit up at night.

I think we will take a taxi, but we're arriving at Rush Hour on a weeknight,so we thought that the extra costs could be much higher with traffic (and we'd rather put that $$ towards other things, we have two weeks of travel after we leave Paris). In this case, do you think a "fixed rate" Shuttle is perhaps a better idea?

Thanks again and keep those suggestions coming if you like.

If you can get hold of last month's National Geographic magazine, there was a great article in it on the Marais, which seems to be the place to be at the moment.

Hi rippo
You might find these links useful

Paris Shuttle (parishuttle.com), and the Bee shuttle (bee-shuttle.com) about 15 E each.

Visit a street market on one of the mornings you will be there--they are somewhere in Paris every day except Monday. Or alternatively go to one of the market streets such as rue Cler (7eme) or rue Mouffetard (6eme). Here is a site for all the markets--and a lot of other information.
http://www.jack-travel.com/Paris/Par...arkets1_11.htm
For optimizing your museum time particularly at the Louvre I would recommend getting the Michelin Green Guide to Paris and planning what to see from its explanations.
Also DO take a taxi instead of the shuttle--it will only be a few dollars more and takes just one little bit of uncertainty (will the shuttle come or not) out of your first hours. Take only a Taxi Parisien from the taxi line--not from anyone who approaches you.

You have plenty on your plate for 5 days. If you want more, I'd add the following:
Opera Garnier (easy to get to and quite beautiful)
Luxembourg Gardens (nice for a stroll)
Place des Vosges (interesting square and small park)
Isle St. Louis (best ice cream in the world!)

Oh, and get the Metro pass on day 1.
Enjoy the trip!

"then do consider Musee Picasso--perhaps substitute it for the Rodin.."

I respectfully disagree. The Rodin is one of my all time favorite museums with great gardens.

Now, I admit that I have no love of Picasso, but last year my friend who does like Picasso went to the Musee Picasso and was tres disappointed.

If you want to see the Musee Picasso, that's great. But I definitely would not miss Rodin. Have a terrific trip.
((H))

I think your plans are fine and cover the obvious highlights that most tourists enjoy seeing. I agree with Ira that you should walk down the Champs-Elysees -- That particular vista and urban planning are unlike anything else I've seen, and important to Paris.

I also am not crazy about Picasso or that museum and wouldn't substitute it for the Rodin. The Marais has been trendy for quite a long time now, I guess -- maybe 10 years, at least? I thought it had peaked and gone down in comparison to the really top trendy area, but it remains very popular.

I think you could have a point with the shuttle and if you are arriving in rush hour, one might be a good idea. I don't take them myself but I never arrive in rush hour and don't care about saving a little money on that kind of thing, but if you do, I think it's a good idea.

I wouldn't go to the flea markets myself in such a short time, unless this is your absolute passion in life. I find the grand dept. stores or just smaller shops in St-Germain or the Marais infinitely more interesting and better shopping that those flea markets which involve considerable travel time, also.

Have an agenda for these walks, some guidebooks have good walking tours. For example, a walk in the "Latin Qtr" could mean a lot of things, and most tourists would not find the really interesting and pleasant parts of the Latin Qtr, and the historic churches and buildings and information on them (ie, MOntagne Ste-Genevieve, Val de Grace, Mouffetard quarter, church St-Etienne du Mont, etc) without guidance (it is not near St-Michel metro). Michelin Green Guides have good annotated walking tours, I think -- my old one does, in any case.

Here's my plug for a couple of churches, one of which Christina mentioned.
Just behind the Pantheon is an exquisite little church, St. Etienne-du-Mont. It has stained glass windows that in my opinion rival Ste. Chapelle for color, though not for detail. There is an original filigree stone rood screen with two spiral staircases. There is also a small chapel dedicated to Ste Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris. I love this little church.

St. Julien-le-Pauvre is the oldest complete church in Paris (St. Germain has a part that is older). It is a modest, sweet little church, now used for worship by Greek Catholics. It is set in a little garden, from which you have a great view of Notre Dame across the river. You can also have a rest on a bench.

I am not Rick Steves's biggest fan, but his book on Paris does have a couple of good walking itineraries (not much detail, but a good route), esp. for the left bank.

I have a file on Paris; if you'd like to see it, email me at
[email protected]

Bon voyage

Thanks again everyone.

We do have info on a few different neighborhood walks.

Also, thanks for recommending that church, my wife loves stained glass.

We're sticking with Rodin and not Picasso (simply can't do everything!).

Ice Cream is a big YES.

Thanks for the Markets link, very useful.

Keep your thoughts/suggestions coming!

we absolutely love the artist "square" next to sacre couer. we always leave with a little local artwork from there. enjoy the trip.

Rippowam, this sounds like a fine itinerary! And very romantic!! I'm glad you decided to stick with the Rodin Musuem; it is very romantic, just looking at The Kiss gave me shivers, the gardens are lovely and it's a very easy museum to maneuver through. I just wasn't that impressed with Picasso. Plus, he and his artwork and very romantic to me and not very conducive to that carefree, romantic feeling you & yours may wish to invoke on your honeymoon!!!!

Happy Honeymoon!!!!
@>->---

AHEM - are NOT romantic (referring to Picasso). ;)

Thank again for your help.

Here's our "final" itinerary, subject to change of course.

Friday, Day 1- Notre Dame, St.Chapelle, Louvre, subway to Arc de Triomphe, walk back towards Louvre along Champs Elysee.

Saturday, Day 2 - Early at one of the Flea Markets (an hour or two), then the Montmarte wine/harvest Festival (feedback?), then explore the Marais and end with Bateaux Mouche.

Sunday, Day 3 - Take the hop on/off bus tour and explore the Left Bank. D'Orsay, Rodin, Lux Gardens, St.Germain and Latin Qtr (all included on the bus "loop". End with Eiffel Tower.

Monday, Day 4 - Wrap up anything not finished listed above, misc. shopping and we'll still have one more bus tour day to hop on/off to explore.

On Tuesday, we'll have a few hours in the morning to fit in any "last minute" things as well, before we pick up our rental car.

We realize that our plan is ambitious, but we believe it's flexible enough to make changes if necessary and still see the highlights.

Any thoughts?